Pros:Rugged, full weather seals. Rain, snow, or dust won't slow it down.
Compact Size with a magnesium alloy shell of stainless steel chassis.
Selection of lenses designed for the APS-C imaging sensor
Shake reduction with every lens
Ergonomics
External Mic in video mode
Very quiet shutter
Industry first Composition Adjustment and horizon level (separate features)
Cons:
Battery life in Live View/Video mode.
Not a beginners camera unless you have a strong desire to learn about photography
High ISO performance could be a bit better
What previous Pentax users will notice:
Refinement, refinement, refinement
Low light autofocus is fast and accurate (inline with the competition now)
AF-Continuous is fast, but not class leading.
Ergonomics different from previous K10d and K20d (maybe good, maybe bad depending on your position)
Insignificant change in image quality from K20d
Can disable long shutter noise reduction for shots 30 seconds or less
Excellent sensor dust removal
Who should buy the K-7? Anyone looking for a prosumer dSLR (Nikon d300, d300s, Canon 50d, etc) that they want to take anywhere. This thing is for serious adventurers, with its full weather sealing and wide array of weather sealed lenses (DA* or WR series lenses). Going on a trip to Alaska? Hiking in the back country? Canoeing down the Colorado? Or even if you just want a smaller dSLR with all the features of the big boys from Canon or Nikon. This camera steps up the competition.
What new to Pentax users should be aware of? The camera makes slight noises when you pick it up or turn it on. The sensor is free to shift in its mount due to the shake reduction system. This is totally normal, but scares some first time users where they think something might be broken.
Detailed review:
I have tested out the weather seals in a driving rain, where I shot video using my DA* 60-250mm lens. The seals held up well and the camera still works, so all is good. Having used previous Pentax cameras, I have had minimal trouble with batteries dying in the cold like some friends with Nikon's and Canon's have. I had my K20d out in -30 F weather for 1.5 hours once. The camera had frosted over.
The camera is diminutive, but feels like a little tank. It is sturdily built and feels great in the hand despite the compact size. Without the grip I only have 3 fingers on the grip, but this is the same way I held my much larger Canon 5d when I had it. The K-7 is comfortable for me to hold for long periods, I support the camera with my pinky finger.
Pentax has a stellar selection of lenses for APS-C cameras with a wide array of fixed focal length lenses (primes) for best image quality, or large aperture zooms (f/2.8), medium aperture zooms (f/4), or "consumer" zooms (f/3.5-5.6). To find a list of Pentax lenses, visit Pentax Imaging USA's Website. If you want weather sealed remember to buy WR or DA* lenses, non of the others are weather sealed.
It is important to note that shake reduction works with every lens for the Pentax system, usually around 2 or 3 f-stops, but up to 4 for those with shaky hands. This is invaluable to have a 50mm f/1.4 with shake reduction for those available light shots, just remember that shake reduction allows a slower shutter speed so it isn't ideal for moving subjects. Also remember to wait a split second for the shake reduction icon to show in the viewfinder before taking your picture at slow shutter speeds.
The ergonomics are intuitive for the K-7, but might throw some previous K20d users for a loop. Users coming from the K-2000 (K-m in foreign markets) should be able to adapt quickly, as it is very similar. One of the new design paradigms is quick access to everything through the info menu on the back. Also use the info button to disable the LCD (for those that do night shooting and get blinded by it). There is a direct ISO button now too, for those that didn't know it was hidden under the OK button before. Typical of modern electronics there are several over-loaded button functions, so it pays to sit down with the manual and read over it, but overall it is intuitive. The screen often shows you what button to press (like a little symbol of the front e-dial is shown to change a particular setting using that dial). Similar to the K20d, but slightly different too. Be sure to download the latest firmware from Pentax for better use of the AF Select mode (for selecting your own autofocus point).
The video mode is reasonably good. It uses motion JPG compression (AVI) which results in huge file sizes, but minimal artifacts while panning or during motions scenes. It records 720p at a fast 30 frames per second, most of the competition only does 24 fps. Max is 4 GB per file, which might be 8 minutes or so at max quality, or 30 minutes at a lower quality. Like all dSLR video cameras the internal mic picks up every sound the camera makes, so ideally you should use an external mic for high quality video. Only two dSLR cameras allow that at the time of this review writing, and those are the Canon 5d which is twice as expensive as the K-7, and the K-7. The soon to be released D300s will allow an external mic too, but it has a targeted price of $500 more than the K-7. This makes the K-7 one of the best bargains in dSLR video.
The refinement of this camera is stellar. The shutter is very quiet for a dSLR (if you are coming from a point and shoot it is of course much louder), but it is unobtrusive and professional sounding. No more clackety clackty whirrrrr that the older K20d made, one of those noises that turned every head in the room. It is also nice the shutter acts separately from the mirror, so mirror blackout times are minimal and the shutter can be fired multiple times without cycling the mirror, like in live view.
This camera also has an extreme degree of flexibility in configuring JPG options, you can customize several different JPG modes ranging from vibrant, muted, natural, portrait, etc. You can change the key, contrast, saturation, sharpness and more. You can also take 3 shot HDR images right in the camera with decent results. Finally, you can do a wide degree of image processing right in the camera using built in digital filters and also RAW developing.
The composition adjustment can be used to make small shifts left and right and rotationally using live view mode. These are very handy for fine tuning the composition and are equivalent to shifting on a tilt shift lens (just to a lesser degree, 1mm each direction). The level is also handy, allowing you to easily see when the camera is not perfectly straight, or it can be set to automatically level the horizon.
So, I have had a pretty glowing review so far, what are the downsides?
I have shot 2000 shots through the K-7 now, and it has performed as expected. I have charged the battery maybe 3 times, so life is reasonably good, except when using live view or video mode frequently. The camera sometimes thinks the battery is going dead when it is low and turns the camera off. You can still shoot pictures if you turn it back on, but not much video or live view. However, you can still get a lot of use from the video or live view before this becomes an issue, and if it does you might invest in a battery grip or AC adapter.
My only disappointment with the camera is I wish ISO 1600 performed half a stop better. The noise is relatively pleasing though, and will lead to good prints or black and white conversions.
This camera has an intimidating array of buttons and options. If you are a beginner, and have no intent to learn photography in terms of exposure and aperture, I would hesitate buying this camera. Pentax's entry K-2000 might be worth a look in that case.
However, this camera really brings everything to the table and if you are an advanced consumer or even a professional looking for a feature rich camera, this Pentax is definitely worth a look. This camera is an amazing price considering the competition.
I couldn't believe that I bought this as I already own the very good Pentax K20D. The K-7 is a better camera. As the current have-to-have feature is video, Pentax included that with this camera. Not being that knowledgeable about video, it seems like it does a good job, though it isn't a quick, push one button action.
But when it comes to still photos, it is superb. It feels good in the hand. It's noticeably smaller than the K20D and a bit lighter but don't make the mistake of thinking that small doesn't mean hefty. This thing is solid. It' build like a tank. I believe that the steel and magnesium body is tough. It sure feels that way.
Pentax has taken a good camera and fixed the little niggling problems that kept the K20D from being great. The slow, low light autofocus is fixed. That's fast and accurate now. The already decent high ISO performance seems to be about a full stop better. The camera now has a dedicated ISO button, too, which is a much appreciated addition.
Other little touches shine, too. The camera handles like a dream. It's well balanced with my not very light lenses. The 4 way controller now has separate buttons, that let you access the functions individually. Excellent. The ISO button and exposure compensation buttons have been moved to the top of the camera where they can be easily found by feel. The review button, also has been moved to the top and doesn't have to be picked out of a cluttered back.
Oh, and the photos this takes are excellent. It has a bunch of scene modes and effects, which honestly I haven't used. I shoot RAW, though Pentax has left their exclusive RAW/JPEG button on the front of the camera if you choose to mix your image formats. I already mentioned the improved low light performance. High ISO noise doesn't really appear until 800 and then it's not something that detracts from the quality of the images. It actually produces usable images at 3200 ISO. They are grainier than some other cameras but Pentax applies very little noise control and the photos have more detail than other cameras I've tried. I like the balance that Pentax has taken.
One other nice detail is that Pentax has replaced the fiddly key you need to turn to access the SD card with a simple latched door. It's still weather sealed. The one place where the camera seems just a bit worse is in the media door on the other side of the camera. The solid door has been replace by a rubbery plug that I'm not fond of. It still seems to seal the camera but it feels cheap, the only part of the camera that isn't top-top.
One other area that's been improved is the burst speed. I honestly don't believe that the slower rate of the K20D was really a problem for most people but the numbers didn't look as good as the competition. That's "fixed" with a 5+ frame per second rate. It just shows that Pentax really paid attention to what people said about the K20D and fixed it. Pentax also added a high dynamic range feature that does a pretty good job. That has two ranges. The high one shows that HDR strangeness that I've come to expect. The middle range does a pretty good job, though I still like to bracket the exposure and post process. Though I did use it this afternoon and got a decent exposure.
For a serious amateur, I can't image a better camera. Go to a camera store and pick one up. I'm guessing that you'll like this gem, too.
**Addendum I just spent the last week with my new macro lens. The new ability to zoom in with live view makes manual focusing easy to get spot on. And manual focus is necessary with extreme close ups.
A problem with all DSLRs is that the lack of the split screen built into the old film cameras makes manual focusing less precise than it was with them. There really are no models that I know of that don't suffer from this. Live view zoom solves this.(you can add a focusing screen but I understand that those mess with metering)
Buy Pentax K-7 14.6 MP Digital SLR with Shake Reduction and 720p HD Video (Body Only) Now
I had owned a Pentax K10d and have been wanting to upgrade for a while. I did extensive research on the Canon T1I, Canon Xsi, Nikon D90, and Nikon D5000.Pentax K7 won out in the end. I was willing to change systems, but the K7 is simply superior to everything at and below its price range. Even surpasses the ones that are a few hundred more as well.
I travel a lot and wanted something light and weatherproof. during the P&S days, I ruined 3-4 cameras because of dust and did NOT want that to happen to a more expensive dslr. Pentax came to the rescue and offers a weather sealed body. So I can take photos where there's lots of dust and even in the rain! what other slr camera can you do that with? The Pentax K7 is the only camera within hundreds of dollars that can meet this criteria.
Of course having great image quality and autofocus abilities were critical too. Yeah, the Nikon D90 might have great low iso performance, but it's a toy compared to the Pentax K7. Canons were nice, but they felt like toys... unless you go into the $1500+ range. the tight body of the k7 is a sheer delight.
I got immensely frustrated by Canon and Nikon because I really wanted to switch over... mainly because so many of my friends have their lenses and I could borrow them... but I couldn't do it because Canon and Nikon deliberately trip their cameras so that it doesn't cannibalize their other cameras. Also, they want to make more money by putting in the stabilization within the lens instead of the body. So you have to get a stabilized lens which is a lot of more money. Pentax ain't nasty like Nikon and Canon. They put their best foot forward instead of little toes like Canon and Nikon with their stripped cameras.
admittedly, one of the major problems with my K10 was the low light autofocus. it was hard to take shots with my 1.4 prime in a dimly lit room. but that problem is now gone! the k7 autofocus is quick and accurate. an additional bonus... one of the reasons why i hate flash is because it disturbs the people around you, but the loud shutter sounds of slrs are a distraction too. but with the k7, i think it has the quietest shutter of all slrs! this is a huge bonus when trying to take pictures without disturbing people around you.
all the cameras that aren't full frame are similar in image quality. some have more noise and more detail (like the pentax), and the others have less noise but less detail, but the differences aren't very significant. so it comes down to the value and the feature set. and this is where the Pentax K7 BLOWS away the competition. you might be a little turned off by the $1300 price, but at that price, there's NOTHING that comes even close.Starting with the impressive Pentax K10 a few years ago, I later welcomed the arrival of the K20 for improvements over a very capable camera. The K20`s 14.6mp CMOS sensor provided much improved high ISO performance so that shooting at ISO 2000 for concert photos was no problem. The individual lens adjustment for auto focus was also a huge plus since lenses that were barely usable on the K10 due to front or back focus problems functioned normally on the K20. I even found that the live view feature was pretty handy for such things as sunrise or sunset pictures where it would be impossible to look through the viewfinder without damaging your eyes. What remained a bit of a disappointment on the K20, however, was the often slow and inaccurate auto focus, the slow burst rate and the finicky white balance performance that much of the time needed constant fiddling to get close to accurate hues under various lighting conditions. There was also the anticipation that high ISO performance would be improved as well. Knowing the K20 limitations, I could usually work around them and still get impressive shots. But there's always the expectation of improvement, especially when you start bumping into those limitations and seeing how the competition is moving ahead of what you're shooting with.
So when the K-7 was suddenly announced, I had hopes for another measureable step forward to answer to the shortcomings of the K20. The first feature that caught my attention was not the HD video capability at 30fps, but rather the entirely new 14.6mp sensor "built from the ground up" with the intention of improving high ISO performance, especially in shadow details, as Pentax claimed. Additionally, there was the new 5.2 fps burst rate and improved autofocus performance. That was all I needed to buy the K-7. You can read about all the improvements this camera represents in the other reviews from those who also bought the K-7, so I'll keep my comments to those things specific to my experience after a month shooting thousands of JPEG pictures (no, I haven't played with RAW yet, and I understand that's where the K-7 really does well).
Pros:
The new smaller size is not what I would have liked. I actually was hoping for a slight increase in the size of the K20 since I just like the feel of a larger camera. However, the solid construction and layout when combined with the optional battery grip made for a satisfying package for comfortable handling. I also like the battery option of standard Pentax K-7 battery or 6 AA batteries in the grip. Without the battery grip, the small size does have advantages for portability/storage, however.
The auto white balance improvement over the K20 is huge! Even under various artificial lighting conditions, the white balance is surprisingly accurate. This will save me many hours of post-edit work just to adjust the color balance as I did with my indoor K20 shots.
The new shutter is much quieter and smoother. I never really cared for the shutter sounds of the K10 and K20 compared to Canon, Nikon and others. Although still not as smooth and "precise" sounding as other cameras, I can live with the K-7 shutter noise. In fact, the quietness is a big plus for taking candid shots when you don't want to draw attention to yourself.
The 5.2 fps burst rate is a substantial improvement from 3 fps for action shots and is still workable compared to the faster rate of other cameras in the 6 to 8 fps range.
The autofocus performance does seem to be improved, although the type of lens you use can make a big difference in focusing speed. I've found that in bright light the fastest focusing lenses are the ones not using the quiet SDM mechanism in the lens, but rather the noisy screw drive in the camera body, although these lenses tend to have less focus travel, helping with focusing speed. I've noticed less "back-and-forth" indecision in focusing with the K-7 in low light situations, but the overall speed is probably average amongst the various DSLR makes. The AF assist light is also a nice addition that helps in near-dark situations. Update: A leading photo magazine just tested the K-7 auto focus speed, and compared to their test of the K20, the K-7 looks to be almost 10% faster in all light conditions according to their tests. That same magazine also tested cameras like the Canon 50D and Nikon D300s where they were about 50% to over 100% faster than the K-7 in medium to low light conditions. Hands-on experience still shows that the Pentax autofocus system is far slower than the competition in lower/low light situations. This can be very frustrating when focus response slows significantly or continues to hunt back and forth while your one or two second photo opportunity has passed before the camera could finally achieve focus and get the shot. In bright light, however, the K-7 and the others are all about the same in focus speed.
Cons:
I'm most disappointed with the performance of the new sensor. Throughout my picture-taking with this camera, I noticed an overall tendency for my shots to be just a bit "noisier" than the K20 at all ISO settings. After careful JPEG comparisons between my K20 and the K-7 at ISO 2000 using the same lens and same settings, I found that the K-7 had slightly more "grain" than the K20. This was especially noticeable in shadows which is where the biggest improvement was supposed to be. The K20 sensor would best the K-7 at all comparable ISO noise reduction settings with the exception of the highest NR setting. Detail would certainly be reduced in both cameras at that setting, but the K-7 does seem to show more detail despite the increased noise reduction. The only thing I noticed is that the increased detail, or resolution, is accompanied by harsher edge detail like over-sharpening or the way watercolors can bleed along an edge. These issues considered, I would have been no less disappointed if the K-7 had come with the K20 sensor so long as the auto white balance improvement came with it. Not clear what the story is behind the K-7 sensor development (by Samsung) unless it somehow didn't quite measure up to what Pentax was expecting in time for the launch date of this new camera.
Despite the greatly improved auto white balance, I found that the K-7 still has a bit of a problem rendering red such as red lighting or red colors in stage performance situations. They end up looking a bit washed-out and pinkish.
I remain concerned about Pentax quality control. The first copy I did most of my shooting with turned out to have a "noisy" flexible back that squeaked and creaked near the buttons and thumb rest. Amazon was spectacular in getting me a replacement in a couple days. The new K-7 is solid very solid, but I've noticed that pictures on this copy are slightly underexposed. I've been told that there have been some other copies purchased with the same flexible rear body issue.
Forgot to mention the little issue with the SD card door: the card is way too close to the door hinge when it's open such that I can barely get my fingers on the card to pull it out. I almost resorted to needle nose pliers to do the job.
Overall:
The K-7 is still a worthy improvement over the K20 despite the disappointing "non-improvement" in ISO performance: for me the K20 now becomes a solid backup camera to the K-7. The multitude of features and improvement of the menu and controls and the overall quality of the pictures it can produce, hold up well to competitors in the same general class resulting in a really fine camera choice and better deal in the balance. Mounted with the best Pentax glass, I feel just as capable standing next to the pros shooting with high-end APS-C class Canons or Nikons the resulting pictures speak for themselves. With the K-7, Pentax is a high-value option for serious enthusiasts.
Update 9/23: The 2nd copy I received turned out to have an apparent defective sensor/light metering system or very odd normal behavior. At all ISO settings above 1250, the image (JPEG and RAW) is underexposed by at least one full stop. A "problem" of underexposure with the K-7 is covered in more than one professional review but Pentax says that they are not aware of such issues so this may be isolated. Looking back at pictures taken with my first copy, it also appears the problem existed to some degree with that one as well. As a result, I'm personally not confident in the integrity of the new sensor/metering system on the K-7 (and certainly not in the quality control) and will wait until next year before possibly trying my luck with a third copy. In summary, I feel the K-7 needs some serious improvement with the sensor, autofocus system and quality control to better compete with the likes of the 7D and D300s and be a truly outstanding camera as a result. Looking forward to seeing these improvements on their updated K-7 model in the hopefully not-to-distant future. For now I'll continue to enjoy my still capable K20.
Want Pentax K-7 14.6 MP Digital SLR with Shake Reduction and 720p HD Video (Body Only) Discount?
Background: I have been doing photography for 30 + years and digital photography since about 1997. I own or have owned Pentax ist*D, and K20D. I also have a Fuji S2Pro (Modified Nikon body), and Sony A100, A700. I have briefly used several modern Canon and Nikon DSLRs. I purchased the K7 for a 3 week trip to England and Ireland, mainly because I didn't want to lug around a DSLR and a video camera (Sony HDR-HC1). I bought the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 and did the trip with that single lens only about 10% of time did I desire a longer focal length lens.Pros:
Solid. I dropped it 3 feet onto concrete (camera bag hung on something). The lens hood shattered but the camera and lens worked perfectly.
Compact and weather resistant -feels good and soaking rains of Ireland did no harm.
Great Auto White Balance even in low light and indoors; Fuji S2Pro is close on AWB but most other DSLRs really struggle with low indoor and mixed lighting
Fast (relatively)-about same as Sony A700 (5fps).
Fast and significantly improved focusing (versus K20D) especially in low light.
Better low light performance, focusing, color balance, noise.
Improved anti-shake is a significant aid in low light didn't need tripod. Remember, unlike Nikon and Canon the antishake is in the body so it works with all lens and this makes the lens cheaper.
Adjustable Noise Reduction. Very good low-light performance, best under ISO800 but acceptable to ISO 1200.
Tilt-meter that really helps, really needed on video but great for most photos
Controls: buttons for most important functions. In particular the push-button RAW button, exposure compensation, and ISO.
Unique Pentax exposure modes: Sensitivity priority #set the ISO for the lighting and it will pick aperture and shutters speeds for correct exposure and TAV where you set the shutter and aperture and it will change the ISO to get the correct exposure.
Customizable -every comprehensible way. There are a million little things (Lateral Chromatic aberration distortion adjustment, HDR capture, digital filters, bracketing options (unbelievable#, autoface detection.
Quality of photos is excellent particularly with a good lens.
Cons:
Not a video camera. Need to be careful about focusing. Focusing is a slow, one-time thing for each shot. It is hard to verify focus on screen (can't use viewfinder) particularly in bright light. One can't pan or zoom well. You get best results if you don't move the camera just let the activity in the frame create the action. In the same way that video cameras aren't replacemets for DSLRs for still photos DSLRs are not replacements for video cameras not yet anyway. That said, you can get good looking video if you are careful. Video eats up SD card space fast tell your story with short 5-10 second clips.
There is so much that can be done with this camera that it can easily intimidate -just leave it in "green mode" until you are comfortable.
I have trouble getting the SD card out of the camera it seems to hang and I end up pushing it in and letting it spring out multiple times.
Why doesn't Pentax use Compact Flash Cards? For the money they are cheaper, faster, and hold more. It would be nice to have 2 card slots and then this would be a true professional body.
Bottom line:
I believe the material/build, features and quality of the results make this the best DSLR camera value today. If you are just getting a DSLR for the first time think strongly about this instead of a Canon or Nikon.
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